Pakistan National Assembly Passes Landmark “Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment) Bill 2011”: Authored by Parliamentarians for Global Action Executive Committee Member Dr. Donya Aziz

On November 15th, 2011, The National Assembly of Pakistan unanimously passed a landmark bill on the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices. The bill is a significant achievement by the government of Pakistan to protect women from practices leading to discrimination and exploitation.

Dr. Donya Aziz, author of the newly-passed bill, said in its objectives that the legislation aimed to reduce social injustice against women by proposing severe punishments.

The bill proposed prohibition of depriving woman from inheriting property, prohibition of forced marriage and prohibition of marriage with the Holy Quran. Under the bill, violators shall be punished with minimum three years imprisonment and fines ranging from five hundred thousand to one million rupees for each crime.

Dr. Aziz has been a member of Parliamentarians for Global Action since 2004 and currently serves on PGA’s Executive Committee. She played a major role in PGA’s working group on women’s empowerment legislation in Pakistan, working closely with PGA’s Secretary-General.